Nitty-Gritty of Creep Feeding

Creep feeding provides additional feed and nutrition to lambs. This is typically done for market lambs to boost their weaning weight. Creep introduces lambs (before weaning) to the type of feed they will consume in a drylot (if they are to be drylotted).

A typical creep feeding setup consists of a small pen with a Premier Creep Gate on one side. The gate allows the lambs to enter the feeding area while keeping the ewes out. Since we have many lambs, our creep feeding area is large. We're using several of our 6'-8' panels connected to Premier's Build Your Own feeders and a creep gate.

An indoor creep area should be clean, dry and well lit. The light will attract the lambs and the clean/dry area will encourage them to stay there. If in a barn that is not well lit, hang a heat lamp above the creep pen. The bulb does not have to be a heat bulb, just something to provide a light source.

Outdoor creep areas should offer some protection from the elements while keeping the creep clean and dry. Since it is an area that many lambs will congregate, it should either be easy to move or easy to clean. 

The creep area should be in a location that is accessed by the ewe flock daily. The pen should be located close to the flock’s water source or feed source. It is not recommended to keep a water source in the pen as this can create wet/sloppy areas in the pen.

Since lambs are quickly growing, the creep should have a high protein content to build lean muscle. Consult a sheep nutritionist to develop the best system for your flock. 

A well designed and operated creep will help get lambs on feed soon and to market at an earlier age.

For more information on creep feeding visit:
Premier's Sheep Guide 
Maryland's Sheep and Goat website

Lambing Season 2013

Carl dressed to the 9's (degrees that is) and finishing morning chores in the lambing barn.  

The weather of late has been hovering around a balmy 0°F in the morning to a sweltering 15°F in the afternoon. And lambing season is starting for us (funny how cold weather and lambing seem to coincide).

This year our experiment is using a former warehouse as a lambing barn. This new "barn" offers protection from the elements as well as the option of heat (a real treat). There are some kinks that need to be worked out: feeding, watering and ventilation.

For feeding, the farm guys have been busy building single-sided feeders (using our plans and panels of course). They're arranged to form an alleyway, which allows someone to walk down the center and drop feed to the ewes w/o the need to get into the pen (which is nice since many are carrying twins or triplets.

A bucket placed in a Premier single-sided feeder. The clip was replaced with a Premier bucket holder for added stability. 

Our normal lambing barn (which will still be used this year) has a PVC pipe that carries water the length of the lambing barn. The pipe has cut-outs (so the animals can drink) and flows continuously (so risk of freezing is reduced). A pipe will be installed in the "new" barn. Until then, ewes will be watered via buckets. Fortunately, there is a water hydrant and hose in the building so the guys won't have to haul individual buckets. The farm guys are experimenting with placing a water bucket (held in place with clips) in the feeder and at an angle. They're also trying different sizes and shapes (square vs round) to determine the optimal bucket for this setup.

There are some ventilation issues to work out—the building was not originally designed as a barn. Keeping livestock in the building will bring in considerable moisture. We'll have to be vigilant about clean bedding and getting clean air into the barn. We're planning on installing a vent pipe, it's just a matter of what size and where.